Teachers are good at a lot of things. Multitasking. Being creative even when resources are scarce and working conditions are garbage. Squirreling away enough masking tape to last a millennia. Itās easy for teachers to talk about these things because weāre quick to share what we do well, what works, and what benefits our students. Something weāre not so good at? Talking about our own insecurities.
We donāt have nearly enough honest conversations about what scares us. Our vulnerable points. The triggers for our self-esteem. The mean things we tell ourselves that we assume everyone else already knows.
Some might say, āThings are so tough in education right now. Why focus on the negative?ā Iāve found again and again that some of the times Iāve felt the most seen, the most supported, and the most encouraged have been times where someone I admired shared something vulnerable and I realized Oh my gosh, Iām not alone! Sometimes talking about our insecurities creates opportunities for others to step in and correct our thinking or lovingly point us toward support. Sometimes it will rope us all into a much-needed collective belly laugh. And sometimes, just the act of saying our insecurities out loud (or typing them) takes some of the weight off.
Here are some teacher insecurities we rounded up to make youāwherever you are in your journeyāfeel a little less alone.
- āI think every teacher is insecure that we are not doing enough for our kids.ā
- āThat every time I get called to the principalās office, Iām going to be fired for naively saying or doing something that offended a student or parent.ā
- āThat no matter how many amazing experiences I have in my classroom with my students ā¦ Iāll always just be a test score.ā
- āThat I could not protect them should there be a lockdown or some type of emergency. I would always try to prepare them and go over every scenario ā¦ but at night I would wonder if it was enough. What else could I do? I was lucky to never have had to experience it, but in the wake of all thatās happened, I now know I could not have done any more than those teachers did at Uvalde. Itās truly a teacherās biggest fear.ā
- āI came to teaching late and feel like my age is a hindrance. Also, Iām introverted, so building relationships is very hard for me.ā
- āFarting during class. I can pretty much wing everything with panache, but that would remain indelible in the memory of all who bore witness.ā
- āI know that comparison is the thief of joy, but I canāt help but look at other teachers and think Iām doing poorly or failing my students because Iām not up-to-date on current learning strategies, or they didnāt do well on exams and somehow itās because of my lack of teaching experience stateside. Iām great at building relationships with my students, but I always think Iām failing them whenever I hear they didnāt pass or didnāt understand something.ā
- āTyping live in front of them on the Zoom call or on the smartboard, such a stress!ā
- āThat I donāt have good classroom management because my students and I laugh and have fun while learning.ā
- āNever knowing where you really stand with administration.ā
- āThat Iām going to trip on a backpack and faceplant!ā
- āFinancial insecurities. Same as every teacher.ā
- āThat my own children will feel they are less important than my students.ā
- āPeople thinking my job is easy. When someone says, āThose who canāt, teach.āā
I donāt know about you, but I can safely say that Iāve felt all (or at least part of all) of these insecurities at some point in my teaching career. I wish I had big enough arms and enough time to give all of these teachers a hug, but since I donāt, letās all just imagine it.
Oh, and my biggest teacher insecurity? Leaving any kind of voicemail ever. Every single one is like, āHi, this is my Mrs. Treleaven. Hahaha. Not āmyā Mrs. Treleaven, sorry. Whew. OK. Just wanted to check in about Luca. He ā¦ oh my gosh. I donāt remember what I was going to tell you. Completely lost my train of thought. Hahaha. Please enjoy this voicemail and never mention it again. Iāll just email you.ā